1st Edition

Industries and Global Competition A History of Business Beyond Borders

    290 Pages
    by Routledge

    290 Pages
    by Routledge

    Changes in the dynamics of economic activities since the last decades of the 20th century have yielded major changes in the composition of industries and the division of labor and production across different regions of the world. Despite these shifts in the global economy, some industries have remained competitive even without relocating their operations overseas.



    Industries and Global Competition examines how and why the specificities of certain industries and firms determined their choice of location and competitiveness. This volume identifies the major drivers of this process and explains why some firms and industries moved to other parts of world while others did not. Relocation was not the sole determinant of the success or failure of firms and industries. Indeed some were able to reinvent themselves at their original location and build new competitive advantages. The path that each industry or firm took varied. This book argues that the specific characteristics of each industry defined the conditions of competitiveness and provide a wide range of cases as illustrations.  



    Aimed at scholars, researchers and acadmeics in the fields of business history, international business and related disciplines Industries and Global Competition exmaines the unique questions; How and why did the specificities of certain industries and firms determine their choice of location and competitiveness?

    Introduction Industry History: Its Concepts and Methods



    Takafumi Kurosawa





    Part 1: FDI and Global Competition





    1. Advantage of Being a Giant: The Global Cigarette Industry since the 1980s



    Takashi Hirao





    2.  Access to Markets, Investment, Continentalization and Competitiveness: The Evolution of the Canadian Auto Sector



    Dimitry Anastakis





    3. Different Ways to the Global Market: The Dynamics of Japan’s Electrical Equipment Companies



    Shigehiro Nishimura





    4. Exploring the Rise of Big Pharma: A French-Inspired Model for the Global Vaccine Industry



    Julia Yongue





    Part 2: Localized Knowledge as a Lasting Competitive Advantage





    5.  Longevity in Regional Specialization: the Dutch Water Construction Industry



    Bram Bouwens





    6.  Going Global in Fragmented Markets: The European Publishing Industry since the Second Postwar Period.



    Nuria Puig and María Fernández-Moya





    7. Small, Hidden and Competitive: the Japanese Chemical Industry since 1990



    So Hirano





     



    Part 3: Shift in Global Value Chains





    8. Sourcing Competition across Industries: Japanese Department Stores and the Global Fast Fashion



    Rika Fujioka





    9. "Swiss made" but Global: From Technology to Fashion in the Watch Industry, 1950-2010



    Pierre-Yves Donzé





    10. How to Sail a Sinking Ship – Adapting to the Declining Competitiveness of the European Shipping Industry



    Stig Tenold and Jari Ojala





    11. Three Markets and Three Types of Competitiveness: Pulp and Paper Industry



    Takafumi Kurosawa and Tomoko Hashino





    Conclusion



    Bram

    Biography



    • Dr Bram Bouwens is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, Netherlands.




    • Pierre-Yves Donzé is a Professor of Business History at the Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University, Japan.






    • Takafumi Kurosawa is a Professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University, Japan